Scientists have charted a significant signaling network in a tiny organism that's big in the world of biofuels research. The findings about how a remarkably¹ fast-growing organism conducts its metabolic² business bolster³（支持） scientists' ability to create biofuels using the hardy⁴ microbe Synechococcus, which turns sunlight into useful energy. The team at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory glimpsed key chemical events, known as redox reactions（氧化还原反应）, inside living cells of the organism. The publication in ACS Chemical Biology marks the first time that redox activity, a very fast regulatory network involved in all major aspects of a cell's operation, has been observed in specific proteins within living cells.

 

The findings hone scientists' control over a common tool in the biofuels toolbox. At a more basic level, the work gives researchers the newfound ability to witness a basic biological process that occurs every moment in everything from bacteria to people.

 

"Redox activity tells us where the action is going on within a cell," said chemist Aaron Wright, the leader of the PNNL team whose project was funded by DOE's Office of Science. "We've been able to get a look at the redox system while it's still operating in a living cell, without destroying the cell first. This allows us to tell who the players are when the cells are engaged in the activity of our choice, like making components⁵ for biofuels."

 

Redox activity is one of the most powerful tools an organism has to sense and adapt to a changing environment; it's particularly active in plants that must respond constantly to changing conditions, such as light and dark.

 

The PNNL study was aimed at ferreting out proteins that are potential redox players in the cyanobacterium（藻青菌） Synechococcus. Cyanobacteria absorb light energy from the sun and use it to convert carbon dioxide into food and other molecules⁶, while also giving off oxygen. Redox reactions play a role in directing where the harvested energy goes.

 

Scientists believe the organism and its plant-like cousins, including algae⁷, were responsible for producing the first oxygen on Earth, more than 2.5 billion years ago. It's a sure bet that you have inhaled⁸（吸入） oxygen molecules produced by Synechococcus, which today contributes a significant proportion of the oxygen available on Earth.

 

The organism is attractive to scientists for a number of reasons. It's adept⁹ at converting carbon dioxide into other molecules, such as fatty acids, that are of interest to energy researchers. Synechococcus is easy for scientists to change and manipulate as they explore new ideas. And it grows quickly, doubling in approximately two hours. A patch just two feet wide by seven feet long -- roughly the area of a typical dining room table -- could blossom into an area the size of a football field in just one day.

 

Biofuels makers¹⁰ and other scientists are trying to exploit this ability to churn out quantities of materials that might serve as biofuel. Synechococcus is also remarkably hardy, capable of tolerating the stress caused by intense sunlight, which kills many other cyanobacteria. Redox reactions that take place throughout the organism are at the core of this ability, and understanding them gives scientists a treasured global view of how the cell lives and responds to change.

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